He blamed the “unprecedented” results in part on “the unpopularity of this Government”, adding: “There are many reasons we could point to: from individual mistakes on policy like the decision to cut the winter fuel allowance to the ‘island of strangers’ speech, all of which have left the country not knowing who we are or what we really stand for.”

LONDON (AP) — Efforts to unseat British Prime Minister Keir Starmer broke out into open rebellion Thursday, with one potential rival resigning from the Cabinet and another clearing the way for her to enter any future leadership contest.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting became the first senior minister to quit Starmer ’s Cabinet on Thursday in what is expected to be a precursor to challenging his leadership.

Starmer is facing growing pressure to step down after his Labour Party’s disastrous results last week in local and regional elections.

“You have shown courage and statesmanship on the world stage — not least in keeping Britain out of the war in Iran,” Streeting wrote in a letter. “But where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift.”

“It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election,” he added.

Streeting, whose political ambitions have long been known, is considered one of a handful of people who could try to unseat Starmer.

Another likely challenger, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, said Thursday that she had reached an agreement with tax authorities to clear up questions about her taxes that forced her to leave the Cabinet last September. Rayner told the Guardian newspaper that Starmer should “reflect on” his position, adding that she was ready to “play my part” in any leadership election if Streeting were to trigger a contest.

Pressure for Starmer to step aside has intensified since Labour suffered disastrous losses in local and regional elections last week, underscoring voter frustration with a government that has failed to deliver on pledges to boost economic growth and improve living standards for working people.

A stagnant economy and stubbornly high consumer price inflation have made it difficult for Starmer’s government to deliver on its promises after winning a landslide election victory less than two years ago.

Starmer has vowed to remain in office, warning lawmakers that any leadership contest would plunge the government into “chaos” at a time it should be focused on issues like the cost of living crisis and war in the Middle East.

His effort to fight off a leadership challenge was bolstered Thursday morning by a rare bit of positive economic news.

Gross domestic product, a broad measure of economic activity, grew 0.6% in the first three months of the year, compared with 0.2% in the previous quarter, the Office for National Statistics said.

Treasury chief Rachel Reeves said the figures showed that her policies were working and that renewed economic growth would allow the government to put more money into public services and programs to support those hit by the high cost of living.

“But that is only possible because of the economic stability that we have brought back to our economy,” she told the BBC. “And we shouldn’t put that at risk by plunging the country in chaos at a time when there is conflict in the world.”

There was also positive news from the National Health Service. Waiting lines for NHS appointments — one of Streeting’s signature priorities – had fallen for the fifth straight month, boosting any potential candidacy.

Streeting comes from the moderate wing of the left-leaning Labour Party, as does Starmer. Rayner is a favorite of many more left-wing voters, calling on the party to do more to boost the minimum wage and raise taxes on the rich.

Under Labour Party rules, any potential challenger to the prime minister would have to have the backing of 81 of the party’s 403 members in the House of Commons. More than that number have publicly called on Starmer to quit in recent days.

But other potential candidates may enter any race for the leadership.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has been widely discussed as a potential candidate, though he would have to find a way back into Parliament before he could run. Allies have suggested a sitting member of the House of Commons could resign to make way for Burnham to run in a special election.

Burnham canceled his regular Thursday appearance on a local BBC radio program this week to “prioritize discussions arising from last week’s elections.”

The senior Labour MP said it was “clear” Starmer could not lead Labour into the next general election.

Wes Streeting has quit as UK Health Secretary, paving the way for a potential leadership challenge against Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

In his resignation letter to the Prime Minister, the senior Labour MP said “it is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election”, adding “where we need vision, we have a vacuum”.

Starmer has continued to vow to stay put, as Downing Street indicated that Streeting did not have the backing of 81 Labour MPs needed to force a race.

But allies of the former Health Secretary suggested he did have the required support but was delaying any launch because of mounting pressure on the Prime Minister to step down in the wake of Labour’s election mauling last week.

In his resignation letter to the PM, Streeting said: “You have many great strengths that I admire. You led our party to a victory few thought possible in 2024 and I was proud to fight alongside you in the trenches of that campaign.

“You have shown courage and statesmanship on the world stage – not least in keeping Britain out of the war in Iran.

“But where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. This was underscored by your speech on Monday.

“Leaders take responsibility, but too often that has meant other people falling on their swords.

“You also need to listen to your colleagues, including backbenchers, and the heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices diminishes our politics.”

Meanwhile, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner revealed on Thursday morning that she had been cleared by HMRC of deliberate wrongdoing over her tax affairs, paving the way for a potential tilt at the top job.

She said she might throw her hat into the ring in any race but insisted she would not “trigger” one.

Rayner, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyne, said Mr Streeting, who was believed to have told allies he was preparing to quit on Thursday in a bid for the top job, would need to “justify his actions”.

We’ll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.

For the latest news and breaking news visit dailyrecord.co.uk

Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter @Record_Politics – the official Record Politics Twitter account – real news in real time.

We’re also on Facebook – your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Daily Record, Sunday Mail and Record Online.

Xbox’s massively popular open world arcade racer comes to Japan for the first time, in what could be the best racing game of the year.

For the last 20 years, Forza Motorsport has been one of Microsoft’s most compelling reasons to own an Xbox, competing head-to-head with Sony’s Gran Turismo in the serious simulated driving stakes. In 2012, it got a more arcade orientated spin-off, Forza Horizon, and for a good while players benefited from entries of each on alternating years. For Xbox owning petrolheads it was quite an era.

That’s all over now. The Forza Motorsport franchise has been shelved indefinitely, following Microsoft’s widespread developer lay-offs, and the last instalment of Horizon was five years ago. If there is a silver lining, it’s that after the recent release of Forza Horizon 5 on PlayStation 5, the series is no longer exclusive to Xbox Series X/S and PC. Although inexplicably the PlayStation release of Forza Horizon 6 still doesn’t have a release date, even though it’s meant to be this year.

In Forza Horizon 6, the fictional festival of speed continues its world tour, this time taking to the roads of Japan, one of few countries that also drives on the left. You’ll be welcomed by rugged snow slopes, looping cherry blossom strewn country roads, sandy beaches, undulating wheat fields, and a microcosm of recreated Tokyo, complete with Shibuya crossing and the red and white striped Tokyo Tower, whose base you can drive past, with majestic Mount Fuji in the background.

It’s an inspiring setting, offering the requisite variety of surfaces for Horizon’s eclectic collection of racing styles. That overwhelming generosity infuses every part of the game, from the speed with which collectible cars are doled out, to the ability to rewind time whenever you like during races or just tooling around its roads, instantly undoing mistakes, or just letting you retake a series of corners you felt could be slightly improved upon.

The hyperbolic spectacle is just as lavish. Fireworks, coloured smoke trailing fighter jet fly-pasts, the bullet train, low flying cargo aircraft, lasers, hot air balloons, helicopters, a rocket launch, insane ‘PR stunt’ jumps, flying sparks as your lowered sports car clips the asphalt, and splintering crash barriers, trees, and street furniture as you plough through anything except buildings as though they weren’t even there. Wherever you look there’s a visual extravaganza.

To complement that, simply driving around comes with a plethora of rewards. It takes a leaf out of Burnout’s book, patting you on the back for drifts, near misses, being a daredevil, and smashing your way through scenery. As in past outings, those bonuses build into massive combos, only broken by a hard impact with another car, and you’ll find yourself rapidly accruing credits, experience points, and spins on the game’s two wheels of fortune, where you can win cash, new vehicles, novelty car horns, and outfits for your Drivatar.

It’s a non-stop cavalcade of fun and mild silliness, typified by the Horizon Rush events that earn you an upgraded festival wrist band, signifying your progress through its ranks. They take place on obstacle-laden courses full of slow motion jumps, barriers to shatter, and floors to fall through, with a hilariously full-on intensity that would be unthinkable in the serious-minded Gran Turismo.

Your second festival wristband is won in a showcase event where you race against a giant mech, the huge robot pounding and sliding along the road in front of you, occasionally taking to the skies with enormous jump jets. It instantly plasters a smile across your face, which is the case with so much of Forza Horizon 6; a game unconcerned with fastidious simulation, that just really wants you to have a good time.

That’s not to undermine the exceptional quality of its driving model, which remains highly refined, delivering a characteristic feel for every one of its 550 accurately modelled cars. While nuanced and consistent, it’s also flattering, its arcade leanings helping you feel like a racing driver, at least with the default assists turned on.

Naturally all that can be removed, making its events considerably more taxing, an effect that can also be achieved by upping the quality of the Drivatars you race against. Doing that also provides you with greater rewards for each victory, and there’s an impressive variety of race events on offer, all of which can be played solo, in co-op, or competitively. There really is something for all tastes, from messy dirt rallies to precision track races.

The EventLab, which premiered in Horizon’s last outing, makes a return, allowing you to create your own races and events, choosing routes across its miniature version of Japan, as well as the cars that are allowed to compete. New in this instalment is CoLab, that gives you the ability to build events with online friends, sharing your creations with the rest of the Forza community.

The problem with releasing a near perfect game, which Forza Horizon 5 undoubtedly was, is working out where you go next. Its sequel’s landscapes and music are new, there are numerous additions to its car roster, and somewhat weirdly you can now buy houses, but this is a refinement rather than a reinvention, and there’s no escaping the fact that we’ve seen most of this before.

Not for five years though, and if you like driving games, they really don’t get any more exhilarating than this. If you own a Fanatec racing wheel and spend your weekends in iRacing, it’s possible that Horizon’s dedication to joyous spectacle over nerdy gear ratio adjustment (although that is available) may be off-putting. For everyone else, its uproariously entertaining blast of music and motoring will feel like the Saturday night of racing games.

Formats: Xbox Series X/S (reviewed), PlayStation 5, and PC
Price: £59.99
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Developer: Playground Games
Release Date: 19th May 2026* (PS5 TBA 2026)
Age Rating: 3

*15th May with Premium Edition

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

MORE: Party Animals AI contest sparks full-blown revolt as fans review bomb the game

MORE: GTA 6 pre-order dates leaked by Best Buy as Trailer 3 speculation grows

MORE: How Mixtape became the biggest video game controversy of 2026

The US and Israel’s war on Iran has cast a long shadow over the Gulf. It has placed many of the economies that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regional grouping – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia – under substantial strain.

Since the war began in February, the World Bank has downgraded its 2026 GDP growth forecast for the region from 4.4% to just 1.3%. Some thinktanks, including Oxford Economics, even predict that some GCC economies will enter recession in the second half of the year.

However, the effects of the war have differed across the region. While the Gulf states are often viewed as a unified economic bloc bound by a shared dependence on hydrocarbons, the conflict has revealed significant differences in their economic vulnerability and resilience.

Countries like Qatar and Kuwait have seen their oil and gas exports seriously disrupted by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have access to bypass infrastructure, have been partly able to circumvent this limitation.

Saudi Arabia has diverted 7 million barrels of crude per day through its east-west pipeline, allowing it to export oil from Yanbu on the Red Sea. The UAE, meanwhile, has utilised a pipeline from Habshan to Fujairah to export up to 1.8 million barrels of oil each day from the Gulf of Oman.

This infrastructure has enabled both countries to capitalise on soaring global oil prices. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia’s state oil company, reported a 26% jump in profits in the first quarter of 2026.

Disruption to energy exports is one part of the story. The war has also caused substantial physical damage to energy infrastructure across the region. Around 80 energy facilities, ranging from production plants to refineries and pipelines, have been targeted by Iranian missile and drone attacks so far.

It will take months – and in some cases years – to repair the damage (which stands at an estimated US$58 billion) once the war ends. Qatar’s liquified natural gas industry, in particular, has suffered serious damage. QatarEnergy, the state-owned energy company, says it will take up to five years to repair its Ras Laffan industrial hub alone.

Gulf diversification

The GCC states have adopted strategies to diversify their economies away from a dependency on hydrocarbons. Tourism and aviation are two central pillars of this, with GCC countries investing heavily in these sectors. The Gulf is now home to some of the busiest international airport hubs in the world.

But these industries, too, have been damaged by the war. Financial analysis firm, Moody’s, suggested recently that hotel occupancy in Dubai is set to plummet to 10% in the second quarter of 2026 from 80% before the war. Some Iranian attacks have targeted civilian areas, including hotels and residential buildings, prompting tourists to stay away.

The Iran war has also placed Gulf airlines such as Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways under increasing financial pressure. More than 30,000 flights to the Middle East were cancelled in the first month of the war and jet fuel prices – the biggest variable cost to airlines – are up 90% on the annual average.

The logistics sector is another area of Gulf diversification. It has grown rapidly since the early 2000s thanks to the region’s strategic position between east-west trade routes. The UAE’s Jebel Ali Port, for instance, is now one of the world’s largest container ports and the base of Dubai’s multinational logistics firm, DP World.

However, Jebel Ali has seen a 40% drop in vessels due to the war, with container carriers rerouting to alternatives such as Salalah in Oman and Colombo in Sri Lanka. And while DP World has opened emergency land corridors to ports outside the Gulf to keep cargo moving, these routes are costly and have limited capacity.

The UAE and Qatar also both serve as major air freight hubs, acting as bridges for cargo travelling between Asia and Europe. But this has been affected by the war too. Freight rates have increased following attacks on both Dubai and Doha that led to grounded flights and air space closures.

In the long-term, the economic impact of the war on the Gulf economies will hinge on its duration and political outcome. But the risks are firmly tilted to the downside. The fiscal outlook for some GCC states is deteriorating, with several facing scenarios where government spending exceeds revenue. Public sector debt in some GCC states is rising too.

Moody’s has downgraded its outlook on Bahrain, which was already facing longstanding financial issues prior to the war, from “stable” to “negative”. This will make it harder for Bahrain to access much-needed capital and increase future borrowing costs.

GCC economies invest their surplus oil and gas revenues through sovereign wealth funds, which collectively manage between US$4 trillion and US$6 trillion in global assets. Governments are likely to draw on these funds to support domestic spending on reconstruction and bolstering their defences after the war.

This could undermine their future potential to fund large long-term diversification mega-projects such as Saudi Arabia’s Neom City. Plans for Neom, which was initially proposed as a linear city to home 9 million people, have already been scaled down in recent years due to issues including funding pressures.

The Gulf’s loss of “safe-haven” status due to the war, and the resulting reputational damage, cannot easily be reversed. Even after the conflict ends, higher risk premiums will persist for those doing business in the Gulf. Shipping disruptions could take months to unwind, and a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be likely to trigger permanent rerouting.

If the conflict drags on, structural shifts in global supply chains may deepen, with lasting costs for the Gulf economies.

Dylan Dawes, 50, who started working for the BBC in 2000, had more than 6,000 indecent images of children on his devices when they were seized by police.

A former BBC producer has been spared jail for child abuse offences after downloading 6,000 indecent images.

Dylan Dawes, 50, started working for the BBC in 2000, and made radio shows with presenters including Jason Mohammad and Rhod Gilbert at the time of his crimes.

At Cardiff Crown Court in April, he was found guilty of three counts of possessing an indecent image of a child, and three counts of making an indecent image of a child, relating to more than 6,000 images found on his devices.

At Newport Crown Court on Thursday, Dawes was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

Judge Egan said: “You have paid and you will continue to pay a heavy price for what you did. The public humiliation has been, and will continue to be, significant. The ball is now in your court to ensure that you stay out of trouble – I’m confident that you will.”

Judge Egan said Dawes had sought to blame “anyone and everyone” who had access to the former BBC offices in Llandaff, casting suspicion over many of his former colleagues.

He added: “The real truth, however, was this – that none of those many hundreds of people were to blame. You, and you alone, were to blame.”

Dawes joined the BBC while living in London in 2000 and started his job at BBC Wales after moving to Cardiff in 2001, where he worked as a producer on radio shows and podcasts.

The court heard he was arrested in 2022 after officers searched his Cardiff home, finding indecent images on four devices, including a hard drive, laptop and two iPads.

Dawes told the court he had “fairly regularly” viewed “adult pornography” but denied having downloaded incident images of children.

The court heard he had “no idea” how the images were downloaded and denied having used the search term “jailbait”, suggesting someone else may have accessed the devices.

Harry Baker, prosecuting, said the images had been found on four of Dawes’ devices and it was unlikely this was an “unhappy coincidence”.

Dawes, of Canton, Cardiff, was suspended from his job at the BBC after his arrest and is no longer employed by the broadcaster.

Andrew Taylor, defending, said Dawes did not “shy away” from the findings of the court. He said: “This is a 50-year-old man who has never been before the court in his life. This is a man who has lost everything.

“He is coming to terms with his offending and he will try his level best to rehabilitate.”

Ranging from a newly built detached house near York to a period cottage close to Harrogate , the say Lister Haigh reflect a growing appetite for lifestyle-led moves, where buyers are seeking a balance between countryside surroundings, heritage appeal and strong transport connectivity.

Middleton House in Sheriff Hutton, near York, for sale with a guide price of £875,000, is a newly built five-bedroom detached home which extends to almost 2,500 sq ft and forms an exclusive development of six houses in the sought-after village.

RECOMMENDED READING:
Former care home next to York Racecourse for sale for £1.2m

Designed for modern family living, the property combines contemporary energy-efficient technology – including air source heating, solar panels and EV charging – with a traditional village setting overlooking the historic Sheriff Hutton Castle.

The house includes three reception rooms, a large open-plan living kitchen with bi-fold doors onto the gardens, and five double bedrooms.

Between Harrogate and Knaresborough, Pond View Cottage is priced at £400,000. The stone-built period cottage occupies a secluded semi-rural position adjoining woodland and a pond, whilst still offering convenient access to nearby rail links and the A1(M).

Pond View (Image: Pic supplied)

Set within generous west-facing gardens, the two-bedroom cottage also offers scope for extension and further improvement, subject to securing the necessary planning permissions. The property is approached via a shared gravel drive and includes private parking and two garages.

Associate and residential principal at Lister Haigh, Nick Talbot, said: “Across Yorkshire and the North East we are continuing to see strong levels of interest in homes that combine character and setting with practical connectivity.

“Buyers are increasingly focused on lifestyle, whether that means a village community close to York, a semi-rural retreat between Harrogate and Knaresborough. What links these properties is that they offer individuality and long-term appeal in locations where demand consistently remains strong.”

Contact Nick Talbot on 01423 860322 or email njt@listerhaigh.co.uk or visit www.listerhaigh.co.uk for more information.

Fans of Party Animals are overwhelmingly not on board with the game’s new AI video contest, as the game’s user review take a sharp nose dive.

Despite its widespread unpopularity, generative AI continues to worm its way into video games, with a lot of big name publishers like Microsoft and Capcom expressing interest in the technology.

Some games have managed to get away with incorporating generative AI, with Arc Raiders openly admitting to using AI voicework and still becoming very popular. Others not so much, with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Crimson Desert removing and apologising for their use of AI artwork they claim was only included by mistake.

Now, it’s multiplayer game Party Animals’ turn to deal with player ire and backlash, with its community turning on it after it announced an AI video contest.

Initially released in 2023 for Xbox consoles and PC, with a PlayStation 5 port dropping last year, Party Animals is a physics-based party game where players take control of cartoon animals and fight to be the last one standing.

It’s a deliberately silly kind of game, with players flopping and falling over the place, and it’s been relatively successful, earning positive reviews and nominations for Best Multiplayer at The Game Awards in 2023 and the BAFTA Games Awards in 2024.

The point is it had a good reputation; one that’s now in jeopardy thanks to the aforementioned AI video contest. The announcement came yesterday, with Party Animals fans encouraged to submit AI generated videos for a chance to win a share of $75,000 (about £55,500) of cash prizes.

‘A short film you’ve been dreaming of making, a story that breaks all the rules, a character tribute to your favourite beast… In the past, ideas like these could only exist in your head. Now, with AI, they finally have a chance to become reality,’ reads the X post.

The rules state that entries must primarily be made with AI tools, but there’s no mention of submissions needing to only be based on Party Animals.

Amusingly, the rules also say that plagiarism is not tolerated when that’s one of the key issues with AI-generated videos and art – they’re not making anything original and are stealing from other sources.

Not that any of this matters as the response has been overwhelmingly negative. ‘Just a hunch here. But you know how all the artists and creative on your team no doubt told you this was a terrible idea. It is. Fire the dumb ass that pushed for this. He might’ve tanked this games reputation,’ reads the top response on X by RubberRoss.

‘2.6 million views, 454 likes, and 2,050 quotes with a probably large chunk bringing attention to your poor choice and either uninstalling your game, cancelling their plans to buy it, or otherwise vote with their wallets. (Like I am. Y’all ain’t getting a single red cent from me.)’ reads another by VTuber Starjumpersix.

‘Congrats, this could have been a proper art contest that got you more good will, attention, and maybe even more revenue, but now you got the opposite,’ says Anura Litho.

Even the PartyAnimalsAIVideoContest hashtag, which is supposed to be used for video submissions, has barely any activity and most of the X posts are angry reactions and disparaging comments.

Don’t miss Gaming news! Add us as a Preferred Source

As a loyal GameCentral reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for gaming stories. We have all the latest video games news, reviews, previews, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.

Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

Advertisement

Add us as a Preferred Source

This anger has seeped over to the game’s Steam page, where you can see it’s become flooded with over 1,000 negative reviews since yesterday, after years of mostly positive feedback.

‘Literally cannot believe the stupidity in hosting an AI art contest,’ says Bepis, who has over 38 hours of play time on Party Animals.

CowBells, who has over 59 hours of play time, doesn’t mention the contest, but it’s obvious what their review is referring to: ‘You could’ve shut your mouth, cooked, and made as much money as you ever needed. It was perfect. But, no, you just had to blow it up. You and your pride and your ego! You just had to be the man. If you’d done your job, known your place, we’d all be fine right now.’

‘Their AI video contest announcement is beyond disappointing, destroying a beloved game’s reputation, if they don’t backpedal there is no future for this game,’ writes RukiHyena, who has over 104 hours of playtime.

At the time of writing, the Party Animals account has not issued any follow-up comments nor has the game’s developer, Recreate Games, responded to the backlash.

It’s also too soon to tell if player numbers will be seriously impacted by this, but you can assume there’s not going to be any more AI contests after this.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

MORE: GTA 6 pre-order dates leaked by Best Buy as Trailer 3 speculation grows

MORE: Games Inbox: Are 3D platformers a dead genre?

MORE: How Mixtape became the biggest video game controversy of 2026